Well everyone is on their way home (or home already for our friends in ANC).

I had a lot of fun and I hope everyone else did too. It was certainly cold - for those who didn't come up, it reached -20+ this morning in Chena, and the wind was blowing at a good clip making the wind chill something in the -40 to -50 realm. Cold temperature aside, we did a lot of fun/interesting/unique things, and the weather was otherwise perfect, with clear blue skies the entire trip. The most memorable thing for me would have to be the late night dip in the hotsprings, including the very treacherous walk from the pool building - it was an interesting experience... :p

No aurora (I sincerely hope those flying home tonight see them from the plane), although they were visible flying up Friday night and we were told they were quite visible Saturday (everyone was tired from the train ride and the wine party).

I had so much fun that I've decided to stay over one additional day to cover some sights in Anchorage, including a few museums. If the weather stays nice I may drive down to Girdwood and am pondering a snowmachine trip. NB: US Airways cooperated by delaying the flight by 1+ hour, and the DL reps that do ground handling here in ANC were more than happy to let me go a day later - even confirming me in 1A (prime aurora viewing seat).

I'll be talking to the attendees from this inaugural DO to see whether it might be worth repeating, what went well and what did not, etc.

A very warm thank you to Bob, Franny, Bob, Chris, Eva, Chris, and Bill for joining in the fun - it was truly a pleasure to meet some of you for the first time and to re-join the rest for a bit longer. It was truly an honor and a pleasure to meet you all (or to see you again, as the case may be).

Finally, a very sincere thank you to jackal for his assistance in coordinating aspects of this DO and for driving us while in the Fairbanks area - it was very much appreciated, especially with my work and travel time constraints.

I'll look forward to seeing photos from the other attendees, and will post my own as soon as possible.

Wishing everyone a very pleasant evening (or morning) and safe travels wherever you may be from a slightly-less-chilly Anchorage, Alaska.

Sean

Pleasure to help, and I'll definitely be looking forward to the next gathering!

Anyone see the aurora on the way home?

Thank you very much vysean, Bob W and jackal for a wonderful trip!
I cannot say that I have ever experienced such low temperatures. :eek:
But having said that, I'd be more than happy to repeat the experience. ^
After all, I still have the aurora & dogsled on my to do list. :)
Never mind the beauty of Alaska, & the warm welcome of the locals. ^

So now my fingers have finally thawed out and I can express my appreciation to those who planned and executed the long weekend in Alaska. It was a small group but a great one, with everybody in sync the whole way.

A thank you to vysean who came up with the idea, an especial thank you to jackal who kept things moving in more ways than one, and another to BOB W who supplied much of the liquid refreshment along the way.

Alaska still remains as one of our favorite places to visit (although I would no longer stray very far from Anchorage in the winter). I can still feel the cold of that morning in Chena Hot Springs and will not forget it for quite a while. I guess that I'm not as hardy as SeeYa who appears ready to do it all over again.

You guys up there are great. Thanks again for the wonderful hospitality.

I have an idea for next time: the Alaskan Spring Break Do 2010 will be temporarily relocated to Boca. All we need to do is add a bit of sulphur to your pool (and your shower) and we can pretend it's Chena! :D

:D

Sounds good to me. All I will need to do is to round up some worn-out skinny blue towels and lay in some extra chips and wine and we will be ready to duplicate the experience in comfort and be about 100 degrees warmer. :)

Sounds good to me too. Especially the 100 degrees part. :cool:

It was great to see everyone again and meet Sean for the first time.

+1 this proposition ^

(@:-)Especially if AS reduces some of those fares ANC-Florida...)